Unions of electricity sector in Indonesia such as Serikat Pekerja PT PLN (Persero) or SP PLN, Persatuan Pegawai PT Indonesia Power (PP IP), and Serikat Pekerja PT Pembangkitan Jawa Bali (SP PJB) held a press conference via Zoom on Tuesday, July 27, 2021. The press conference was attended by the leaders of three unions. There was Muhammad Abrar Ali, the chairperson of SP PLN, Bintoro Suryo Sudibyo, the General Secretary for SP PLN. There was also Dwi Hantoro Sutomo, the chairperson of PP IP, and Andy Wijaya Serikat, General Secretary of PP IP. From SP PJB, Agus Wibawa, the Chairperson of SP PJB, and Dewanto Wicaksono, the General Secretary.
There were at least 500 participants who joined the zoom. Most of the participants are SP PLN, SP PJB, and PPIP leaders and members. The hundreds of participants attending the press conference show that this matter is a serious problem for workers of PLN Group.
In addition to that, there were many journalists from national media such as Kompas, Detik, The Jakarta Post, Sindo, Kontan, and CNN Indonesia. Support from media journalists to cover the story and attend the press conference is encouraging.
In the press conference, unions of PLN Group stated their position against Holding Program over electricity businesses owned by PT PLN (Persero) and its subsidiaries. The Plan is done by forming a Holding of power plants assets and then selling the shares through IPO (Initial Public Offering).
The press conference was opened with an explanation on the argument why the unions were against the privatization plan using the disguise of Holding/IPO. The explanation was carried out by Andy Wijaya. It was then followed by question and answer. The points and complete statement of the unions of PLN Group can be found in the published ‘press release.’
During the questions and answers session, there were many questions from journalists. Some of them came from Kompas, Kontan, and the Jakarta Post. One at a time, union leaders such as Muhammad Abrar Ali, Dwi Hantoro, and Agus Wibawa answered the questions.
The press conference is an important part of the struggle of PLN Group Unions to fight against forced privatization. If the privatization succeeded and then electricity will be in the hands of the privates, people would be harmed as they will have to pay more for electricity.
News Coverages:
https://finance.detik.com/energi/d-5658371/serikat-pekerja-pln-tolak-rencana-ipo-lewat-holding
https://koran-jakarta.com/sp-pln-tolak-holdingisasi-yang-dipimpin-pge
Advancing Trade Union rights in Indonesia 